Cermaq: Integrated annual and sustainability report
Cermaq's integrated annual and sustainability report provides information on central environmental, social and economical aspects related to the operations of Mainstream and EWOS, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Cermaq.
The report is based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines. Cermaq has expanded the reporting and defined company specific indicators for areas such as; use of antibiotics, sea lice, escapes, and marine raw materials. Attached in the 2009 Annual Report for Cermaq ASA approved by the board of directors
The purpose of the sustainability report is to contribute to the knowledge about the farming industry and for increased transparency and dialogue around this industry. Reporting is also important as a company tool for continuous improvement. We depend on good interaction between the industry, the authorities, and interest groups as a prerequisite improvement and for laying the foundations for future growth.
- We want a proper debate about the impact of the aquaculture industry on the environment in the broad sense, says Geir Isaksen, CEO of Cermaq
- It is important for us to contribute to transparency about our operations, to establish an arena for feed back on our work. I hope this report will contribute to that, says Geir Isaksen.
Sustainable aquaculture is the basis in our business approach, and we have defined our set of sustainability principles which applies for all parts of our operations. We measure our results using GRI indicators as well as company specific indicators. The company specific indicators have been defined based on the same method as the GRI indicators.
Here are some of the results that are included in Cermaqs sustainability report for 2009:
- Significant reduction in use of antibiotics, use varies from 0 in Norway to 38.2 g/tonne fish in Chile
- Total escapes of 1454 fish of a total stock of more that 40 million fish in the sea
- Low level of sea lice, and the sites were treated on average 0.3 times
- 76 percent of the sites are covered by area management agreements
- Marine index of 53 percent and doubling of use of trimmings
- A total of 5 complaints from neighbours
- A total of 4 incidents of minor non-compliance with laws and regulations
- Entry wage level in Chile is 28 percent above the minimum wage
- Research activities correspond to ca 1 percent of Cermaq's revenues
The report describes several key areas as health and safety, measures for improving fish health and the group's research activities within the defined priority areas. The report may be found on www.cermaq.com